USDA Study Sees Little Market for Hemp-- The Associated Press (via globalhemp.com)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Industrial hemp, the non hallucinogenic cousin of marijuana that can be used in both clothing and food, will never have anything but a “small, thin market” in the United States, a government study says.
All of the hemp fiber, yarn and fabric that the United States currently imports could be grown on less than 2,000 acres of land, says the study by the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service.
Nine states—Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Virginia—passed pro hemp bills last year that provide for research, study or potential production of the crop, and the first U.S. test plots were planted in Hawaii last month.
Some 35,000 acres were grown last year in Canada, which legalized hemp production in 1998.
The USDA study, which was released Friday, doesn’t see much demand for any of hemp’s uses:
As a fiber, it’s main competitor is linen, which is made from flax. There is little textile flax production in the United States, despite the lack of legal barriers, and that suggests there wouldn’t be enough demand for hemp fiber to make it profitable, the study said.
" This stance is inconsistent with your belief that other dual use products should be legal."
I don't see much of a use. I haven't seen much of a use for the last 100 years (with the exception of WWII). This is a non-issue. This is a non-product.
I see more potential for harm (the above story) than beneficial uses, quite frankly. At this stage, I'm content to leave the issue as is -- apply for DEA approval to grow it. Let's see what happens with that first.
The DEA has granted one permit, for one quarter-acre plot of industrial hemp in Hawaii, in the past thirty years. It just shut down because the DEA granted temporary 12-month permits that they were processing 11 months late - forcing the plant geneticist running it to operate in limbo and his funding to pull out. So, the DEA permit option really isn't actually an option.
http://starbulletin.com/2003/10/01/news/story6.html http://www.industrialhemp.net/mydomain/hempreport/newsreleases/west093003.html Meanwhile, hemp has become a big crop in Eastern Europe, and is gaining fast in the UK and Germany. It grows very quickly, yields much more paper per acre than trees, and takes excess nitrogen out of the soil. It's highly heat-resistant and can be made into biodegradable plastic and building supplies such as insulation. Its use is relatively small here because we have to import it, which adds too much to the cost. So, we're losing a growing world market to Europe, even though our US farmers are looking for a new viable crop.
When the UK allowed hemp cultivation, there were a few initial thefts of plants -- then the problem stopped as people realized they couldn't get high on it. There may be specialized things you can do with butane, but it doesn't seem to be a problem even in areas where hemp is legal.
http://www.gametec.com/hemp/hawaii.rpt.html The facts show that the good uses far outweigh the bad; they also show that the DEA non-permit process is another example of the feds overruling activities that belong to the states per the Constitution. I continue to contend that it's inconsistent for you to support some legitimately dual use products but not others. Obviously we're not going to agree on this, though....